Ode to St. Urho
St. Urho Statues
St. Urho Celebrations
Origin of St. Urho
Calendar of Finnish Events
Links - St. Urho sites
Links - Finnish sites
Does the legend of St. Urho
have its source in the Kalevala?
St. Urho's Wife, Sinikka
Ballad of St. Urho
St. Urho on a rally car
Richard Mattson passed away
in June 2001. His story is reprinted here.
In Defense of Sulo
Havumaki as originator of the St. Urho legend
Another claim to the
origination of the St. Urho legend.
www.mojakka.com
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Saint Urho Welcomes You!
St. Urho
is said to have chased the grasshoppers
out of Finland, thus saving the grape
crop.
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The legend of St. Urho originated
in Northern Minnesota in the 1950s. However, there
are differing opinions as to whether it began with
the fables created by Sulo
Havumaki of Bemidji, or the tongue-in-cheek
tales told by Richard
Mattson of Virginia. Either way, the legend
has grown among North Americans of Finnish descent
to the point where St. Urho is known and
celebrated across the United States and Canada,
and even in Finland.
St. Urho's Day is celebrated on March 16th,
the day prior to the better known feast of some
minor saint from Ireland, who was alleged to have
driven the snakes from that island.
The legend of St. Urho says he chased the
grasshoppers out of ancient Finland, thus saving
the grape crop and the jobs of Finnish vineyard
workers. He did this by uttering the phrase: "Heinäsirkka,
heinäsirkka, mene täältä hiiteen" (roughly
translated: "Grasshopper, grasshopper, go to
Hell!"). His feast is celebrated by wearing the
colors Royal Purple and Nile Green. St. Urho is
nearly always represented with grapes and
grasshoppers as part of the picture.
Saint Urho has been recognized with proclamations
in all 50 states. Minnesota Governor Wendell
Anderson issued a proclamation in his state, the
unofficial home of Saint Urho, in 1975.
We hope you enjoy our effort to honor this
mythical Finnish-American hero. Please feel free
to share your St. Urho experiences and
celebrations by clicking on the phrase below and
sending a note to the webmaster.
Tim "Timo Winkenen" Winker
Randy "Uncle Toivo" Jokela
Saint Urho's Day
Celebrations
Many communities in the United States,
Canada, and other parts of the world
hold festivals and parades in honor of
Saint Urho's Day. Some of the better
known are in Finland, MN; Finlayson, MN;
Menagha, MN; Thunder Bay, ON; Butte, MT;
Hood River, OR. There is another web
site that catalogs St. Urho's Day
activities each year, StUrhosDay.com,
so we have decided to let them handle
the annual list.
Finland, MN, St. Urho
page on Facebook.
Share
your Saint Urho's Day photos on
Flickr.
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Was St. Urho a Failure?
A book arrived in the mail recently at
SaintUrho.com HQ that indicates
the grasshopper population in Finland is
thriving. The book is titled Suomen
heinäsirkat ja hepokatit (The
Grasshoppers and Crickets of Finland).
Dr. Sami Karjalainen has written a 200
page book full of color photos of
Finnish grasshoppers. The book includes
a CD with grasshopper calls.
Read
more here.
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